


What's Keeping You Hidden

by MissSugarPink



Series: What's Keeping You Here [2]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Deleted Scenes, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, extra scenes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-10
Updated: 2019-07-10
Packaged: 2020-06-25 16:37:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19749601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissSugarPink/pseuds/MissSugarPink
Summary: There are things that just don't occur to you. There are things you don't see.These are those things.~~~~~~~~~~~~~These are chapters of What's Keeping You Here that don't make the cut, or drabbles written that I felt needed to go somewhere, but just didn't really fit into the chapter they were meant to go in! Spoilers, obviously. Unless otherwise stated, this is all canon to What's Keeping You Here!





	What's Keeping You Hidden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus is stunned to see your soul, but he knows he needs to help somehow. And he will.
> 
> (Extra info from chapter 14 of WKYH - we get to see Papyrus's thoughts!)

The very culmination of your being.

When Papyrus was young, Sans had taught him everything there was to know about souls. What all of the magic types meant, what it meant to have a magical aura. When his own magic developed, and his aura shifted slowly to the blue-orange combination that bewildered all of the monsters who neared him, Sans had been there to teach him how to view souls, and reassured him that the two-tone nature of his soul was cool. His brother had the same oddity with his soul, after all! Blue and yellow, like mornings in Snowdin.

It was quiet.

When he was older, and he learned more about the history of the underground, Sans had been there to help him too. Help him understand what it means for a human soul to break. For a human to die. And how Asgore was… “capturing” humans in order to break the barrier because his own child had died. Their soul had been damaged beyond repair. Sans had spared him from the harsher truth.

When a human is hurt directly to the core, either by physical violence or something more, then their soul can become damaged. It can start to split apart, or it could be punctured, or even fade in color until it’s lifeless. And when the body of the person dies… their soul escapes their body. And a monster can take it up.

You gently reached out, not touching it, but holding your hand under the little floating heart. Papyrus stared at the heart, the heart that was almost in two pieces, in shock. 

Was his new friend dying? That was his immediate thought, he had to admit. But no, he knew that wasn’t the case. His friend was vibrant and funny and always so full of life, even when he was tired or sick. No, his friend was very much alive - but his soul was hurting. His soul was hurting almost too much to understand.

No one had said anything yet, but Papyrus knew he would have to say something, after he processed everything. The emotion in the room was tremendously heavy, and no doubt it was weighing you down even more than the sight of your soul. He watched as you shut your eyes, somehow smiling. He had seen a similar smile before, on his brother, late in the nights in the kitchen when Sans thought he wasn’t watching. A smile, through all the tears.

Your soul was hurting. Papyrus could understand that. He had seen it in his brother - maybe not in the physical way that humans showed it, but… He could understand it.

“It’s not supposed to be like this, is it?”

Papyrus spoke very quickly, trying to say it all. “IT IS VERY NICE-” was as far as he got before you spoke and interrupted him. He had wanted to say, “IT IS VERY NICE, HUMAN, BECAUSE IT IS YOURS,” or something along those lines, but to be truthful, he hadn’t thought of all of the wording yet. Sometimes his brain wouldn’t connect to his mouth quickly enough, especially when there was a lot to think about. This was one of those times. 

“Answer me truthfully, guys. What made it… what made it look like this?”

Papyrus was curious to the answer to that as well. He didn’t want to know the true answer, of course, not every detail. He didn’t want you to have to go through that all. Especially not all again. But he wanted there to be something for you to focus on for growth, something you could work on, together, that he could help you heal with. 

You opened your eyes, watching Sans. Papyrus watched as his brother rubbed his neck. “a soul is quite literally the entirety of who you are. every action, reaction, consequence, memory… everything you are, everything you were, and everything you could be. and with that comes… a lot of past things. what your soul looks like is a visual representation of everything.” If he felt now was the time to speak, Papyrus would have praised his brother for the eloquence of his response.

“So this… This is because of my past?”

“it’s a little bit of everything.”

Papyrus watched as you looked at your broken soul once again. It really was a very beautiful soul, shining like a flame. It immediately resonated with his own brave soul, or at least partially brave. And above that, you were a very good friend, one he had come to really enjoy the presence of, and he wanted to stay friends with you. He did not like you feeling so hurt, and he especially didn’t like you crying over it, but his brain was still grasping for what to say or do.

Curtis walked over, putting a hand on your shoulder. “Hey. You good?”

You quickly wiped away your tears, a clear anger in your motion. “Yeah, yeah, I’m good. Guess it’s just kinda intense, seeing who I am just… out there like that.”

Undyne snarled, punching her fist into her palm. “Whoever did that to you is gonna PAY, human! I’ll make sure of it!”

Yes! Undyne had the right idea!

“DO NOT FEAR, ROOMMATE OF MINE! WE WILL HELP YOUR SOUL SHINE EVEN BRIGHTER AND FIND WHOEVER DID THIS! THEY SHOULD APOLOGIZE!”

“A-And I-I’m sure I have s-something in t-the lab that can help research your soul a-and how to heal it!”

Papyrus was quickly caught up in the rally of friendship. Yes! They were all your friends, and they would all help you feel normal again! Normal and not broken souled and hurt by whoever or whatever did this to you. He beamed. This was exactly what you needed! Lots of friends around you, ready to help.

But as he glanced out of the corner of his eyes, Papyrus saw you trembling with Sans and Curtis by your sides. He closed his mouth and watched as the three of you spoke quietly.

… Perhaps, like his brother, a rallying cry for cheer was too much. He had seen how close the two of you had grown already, canoodling on the bench while he honed his skills on the obstacles of the training course! You two… You were very similar. Very smart, and very talented.

But sometimes, it seemed, very, very lonely.

And even a little sad.

… Very sad.

He was glad you two had each other, but Papyrus knew what Sans’s sadness was like. It was something that liked to engulf his brother, swallow him whole, and Sans just let it happen because he didn’t have the energy to get out of it. When Sans was around everyone else, it was too much, Papyrus knew. Everybody trying to drag one person out of the abyss was too many hands. Too much. It put a weight on your soul, just like the silence in the room had. This was a weight too.

Papyrus would not allow for that! No sir. If he could help his brother quietly and carefully, making dinner each night and cleaning and making him go on walks and keeping him healthy - well. If Papyrus could help his brother quietly, then he could help you quietly too. 

You smiled at Curtis, sharing a moment with your brother. He smiled at you, patting you on the back. Papyrus smiled. You had enough support. What you needed was to feel strong in yourself. That was where your doubts would be lying now, after seeing the culmination of your being on display!

He had to get your mind off of everyone else. The spotlight had been on you, and now it was too much on everyone else. So, Papyrus would move the spotlight.

That’s how Mettaton would put it, anyways! Nyeh heh.

Papyrus cleared his throat, taking over the conversation. “WELL, WE HAVE NOW SEEN EVERYONE’S SOULS! AND MIGHT I JUST SAY, I AM VERY IMPRESSED THAT MY ROOMMATE SHARES MAGIC WITH THE KING!”

“Um. What?”

Sans beamed at Papyrus, chuckling, and Papyrus saw a glimmer of love in his brother’s eyes as he recognized what Papyrus had done. “monster souls might be white, but they can use magic that is the same color as some human souls. the king has an orange aura, just like your orange soul.”

“And… what does orange mean?”

Sans looked at you seriously, still smiling softly. “bravery.”

That’s right. You were brave, just like Papyrus, but Papyrus had something more. Honesty. Integrity. He would never, ever, say something untrue.

He was very impressed with you.

He always would be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Interested in more? Bug me at [My Writing Hovel](https://misssugarpinkshome.tumblr.com/). Do not bother yonder peasant, for she writeth of the deeds most erotic for the pleasure of those sinful beings known as readers.
> 
> But legit, bother me there or in the comments below if you have questions or just want to talk!


End file.
